Looking ahead

Lincoln Bicentennial

February 12: Republicans celebrating the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth may observe a Democratic president, Barack Obama, hitching himself to the Lincoln legacy. Obama took his oath of office on the Lincoln Bible and some have compared his appointment of cabinet officials to Lincoln's "Team of Rivals" approach as understood by historians. Abraham Lincoln's victory over Stephen Douglas and John C. Breckinridge in 1860 gave the emergent Republican Party its first presidential victory.

NAACP centennial

February 12: It's no accident that Lincoln's 200th birthday also marks the centennial of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The early anti-segregation organizers officially organized on Feb. 12, 1909, in an effort to pay tribute to the president who freed slaves.

NASCAR kickoff

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February 15: Jimmie Johnson will take his first steps toward NASCAR history when the checkered flag falls at the Daytona 500 starting up NASCAR's 61st Sprint Cup Series. Johnson has won NASCAR's points championship in each of the previous three seasons, tying racing legend Cale Yarborough for consecutive cup championships. If Johnson can win this year's Sprint Cup, he'll tie Jeff Gordon for third place on the list of all-time champions.

Kim Jong-il's birthday

February 16: What do you get the dictator who has everything? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may have a tough time one-upping a gift given by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who once delivered a basketball signed by Michael Jordan to pop culture-infatuated North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il.

Analog TV in the balance

February 17: Analog television almost received a stay of execution in the United States as President Barack Obama planned to delay the deadline for all television stations to switch their broadcast signals over to digital until June 12. But the House on Jan. 28 voted down the delay, meaning people without digital converter boxes after Feb. 17 could be left in the lurch. According to a Nielson study in January, more than 6.5 million homes could not receive digital television signals.

Razzie Awards

February 21: Comedian Mike Myers and the professionally famous hotel heiress Paris Hilton appear as front-runners for worst actor and worst supporting actress accolades when the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation reveals its 29th annual Razzie Awards for mediocrity in film. Myers has been nominated for the Oscar antonym for his work in The Love Guru, while Hilton earned dishonor for her work in Repo! The Genetic Opera, two of the most widely lampooned films of 2008.